Electric railway.



Nn. 688,572. Patented Dec. I0', I90I.

F. M. ASHLEY.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

(Applition med Fab. 28, 1898.)

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ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK M. ASHLEY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 688,572, dated December 10, 1901.

Application iled February 2.6, i898. Serial No. 671,789. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M. ASHLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brook# lyn county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric railways and has special reference to conduit systems employing a main conductor and one or more sectional or working conductors.

The object of the yinvention is to provide a system of this characterin which the vescape of current by leakage is reduced to the minimum and in which both the main and the return current passes through the rails or a portion of them without exposing persons or animals to the danger of a shock either by contact with the rail or by an accidental crosscircuit from one rail to the other.

The invention comprehends the details of construction which will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring'to the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents the plan of a portion of a roadway with the covering of the conduitremoved. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same,l .showing also certain devices carried by the car. Fig. 3 is a detail of an insulated joint in the rails. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section .of the conduit and the traveling switch moving therein. Fig. 5 is a conventional view of the various conductors and electric circuits. Fig. 6 is a plan of the conduit at a crossing with the covers removed. Fig. 7 is a longi-V tudinal section of the cond uit at a crossing; and Fig. 8 isa sectional view of the conduit, showing a modified form of traveling switch infsection.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A and A' represent the two rails of a track upon which the car is run. The wheels of the car are represented by A2. In Fig. l the car also carriesa small truck a, Which is llocated between the two pairs of main wheels. This truck is provided on each side with two small wheels a, which also run upon the same rails. The truck supports a block of soft iron b, which is supported directly over the center of the conduit located between the rails. The wheels of this truck are insulated in any well- -duit parallel to each other.

known manner from the frame of the truck; but their function is to make electrical contact with the main rails of the track, and they are therefore connected with suitable conductors in the circuit in the manner hereinafter described. The main rails of the track are each divided into short'sections, which are insulated from each other-and are made, preferably, less than the length of a car. The sections of the two rails are located directly opposite each other, so that the wheels on the Opposite sides of the truck will make andV break contact with their respective sections simultaneously.

yC represents the conduit, provided with suitable supports or tiesc, to which are secured four rails arranged throughout the con- The two outer rails c/ c? are divided into sections of exactly the same length and location as the sections of the, main rails of the track upon which the.A

car runs. The two inner rails c3 c4 are both continuous. They constitute the main conductors of the system and carry the current from and to the generator, which is represented by G. The sections of the outer rails c/ c2 are respectively connected with the corresponding sections -of the niainrails of the track by branch conductors c5. In the conduit is located a traveling switch D for each car. v This consists of a soft-iron body wound with a coil of wire CZ and supported upon wheels OZ', which run upon the outer rails c' c2. These wheels are insulated from the body ofthe switch and are not intended to be a v* part of the circuit. Underneath the switch,

between the wheels, is supported a truck carrying four pair of wheels, which bear, respectivel y, upon the four rails over which the switch passes. The two wheels d2 are insulated frorn the wheels d3, while the two wheels d? are respectively connected with the two wheels d5. The truck is insulated from the body of the switch, as shownv in Fig. 4f.

The electric circuitsl are as follows: from the generator G, along the continuous rail c3 to the wheels cl3, through the coil d on the switch to the wheels cl2, thence by the sectional rails c and the branches c5 to the main sectional rail A, thence to the wheels ct', through the motor on the car to the other wheels c', to

rail A', branches c5, sectional rail ci", wheels (Z4, wheels (Z5, and back to the generator by the continuous rail c4. It will be seen, therefore, that the main circuit includes the coil on the traveling switch and the motor on the car. As the car moves along over the track,the attraction which exists between the traveling switch and the soft-iron body b, which constitutes the armature of the magnet, will cause the magnet to travel along upon the rails in the conduit in unison with the car. As the switch moves along it will successively switch the current from the main conductors c3 c4 to the sectional conductors in the conduit and on the surface of the roadway.

I am aware that it has been proposed to construct a system in which one of the main rails of the track is continuous and the other in sections insulated from eachother; but in such systems water will sometimes collect and connect a number of adjacent sect-ionsA together, and then if the two rails are connected together bya conductor there will be a short-circuiting of the system at that point, and it is possible for persons or animals to receive a shock in this manner. \Vit`n the present system this would not be likely to occur, as it is necessary that the sections on both sides shall be connected continuously by water at points directly7 opposite each other in order to obtain the short circuit referred to.

In Fig. G I have shown a plan for crossing two conduits without breaking the circuits. In one of them the rails are continued straight through, while in the other the rails dip beneath the continuons rails. This is shown more particularly in Fig. 7. The continuous rails z' rest in the U-shaped recesses formed by the dipping parts t" of the other conductors, and insulating matter is interposed between the two conductors where they cross in this way. The surfaces of both conductors are flush with each other, thus permitting the traveling switch to pass over without jolting. In Fig. 7 is also shown a modication in the form of the switch or more particularly in the manner of applying the coil. The magnet-core is horizontal and is separate from the frame of the switch. It is provided with two pole-pieces jj, located at its opposite ends. It is also mounted so as 'to be movable to a limited extent in a vertical direction. The under sides of the pole-pieces are cut away on a curve, and when the magnet is not energized these curved pieces rest upon cylinders g', carried by the axles of the switch shown in Fig. 8, thereby forminga brake to prevent the movement of the switch on an inclined portion of the road or by its own momentum aft-er the current is turned o. In action the attraction between the magnet and the armature carried by the car causes the core with its pole-pieces to lift slightly, and thus free the wheels and permit the switch to move along with the car.

In another application filed by me December 23, 1892, Serial No. 456,138, I have shown a traveling switch wound with a coil acting in combination with an electromagnet carried by a car. I do not claim herein that particular combination, but the spcciiic combination of a traveling electromagnet in a conduit and an armature carried by the car I do claim herein.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In an electric railway, the combination, with the feeder, of a magnet-coil connected therewith, a sectional service-conductor, a traveling switch on which said coil is mounted, the switch being adapted to connect the coil with' the successive sections of the serviceconductor, and an armature carried by the car and adapted to cooperate with the coil.

2. In an electric-railway system, the combination of the two rails of a track divided into insulated sections, a conduit located adjacent thereto, four connecting-rails located in said conduit, two of which are continuous and two sectional-the sectional rails being respectively connected with the sectional track-rails and a traveling switching apparatus making con tact with said four rails to switch the current into the track-sections successively, substantially as described.

3. In an electric-railway system, two trackrails, both divided into insulated sections, in lcombination with two continuous conductors isolated from the street and switching devices controlled by the moving car to successively energize the corresponding sections of the two track-rails, substantially as described.

4. In an electric-railway system, two trackrails, both divided into insulated sections, in combination with two isolated sectional conductors, the sections of which correspond to those of the track-rails, two isolated continuous conductors, and switching devices c011- trolled by the moving car to successively energize the corresponding sections of the four sectional conductors, substantially as described.

5. In an electric-railway system, two trackrails, both divided into insulated sections,in combination with two isolated sectional conductors, the sections of which correspond to those of the track-rails, two isolated continuous conductors, and a traveling switching apparatus moving along the roadway in c011- tact with said four isolated conductors, an electrically-propelled car moving upon the track-rails and means for causing the switching apparatus to move along with the car for the purpose set forth.

6. In an electric-railway system, the combination of two sets of conductors crossing each other and serving as rails fora traveling vehicle, one set of conductors having dipped or U-shaped portions occupied by the conductors of the other set, the crossing conductors being insulated from each other, substantially as described.

7 In an electric-railway4 system, the com- IOO IIO

bination with a conducting-rail, of a second conducting-rail extending in the same plane, at a different angle, and having spaces for the reception of the first rail.

8. A traveling switch for an electric-railway system, consisting of a frame mounted on wheels, an electromagnet member loosely mounted therein and having curved recesse's, and a correspondingly-curved surface for said recesses on the axles of said contactwheels.

9. A switch for an electric-railway system, consisting of a slotted frame mounted upon contact-wheels, a horizontally-arranged electromagnet-core having pole-pieces at each end adapted to reciprocate in the slots of the frame, said pole-pieces having lower curved recesses, and correspondingly-curved members on the wheel-axles.

10. In an electric-railway system, the combination with two sectional track-rails conmechanically independent of the car but adapted to travel therewith to successively energize the track-rail sections.

12. In an electric-railway system, the combination with two sectional track-rails, of two sectional conductors whose sections are electrically connected to the respective sections of the track-rails, two isolated continuous conductors, and a switch controlled by the car and adapted to connect the continuous rails, and a traveling switch adapted to en-y gage said main conductors to connect the mains with the sections of positive and negative sectional rails respectively as the carproceeds, whereby current is conducted to and from the car-motors through the car-wheels.

15. A switch for an electric-railway system adapted to travel with a car, but mechanic- .ally independent thereof, and adapted to connect the isolated positive and negative line conductors with positive and negative sectional conductors respectively, which have connections with the car-motor.

16. A traveling switch for an electric-railway systein mechanically independent of the car, and adapted to connect the positive and negative isolated line conductors with positive and negative sectional conductors respectively, which have connections with the car-motor, andl electromagnetic means for causing said switch to travel in parallelism with the car.

In witness whereof I havehereunto set my hand, this 13th day of November, 1897.

FRANK M. ASHLEY.

Witnesses:

f WM. A. RosENBAUM,

HARRY BAILEY. 

